By Roy J. Akers — www.skyviewsports.net
Avondale, Arizona —
For the first two rounds of the playoffs, there were no or few driver surprises when eliminations came every third race. The Round of Eight found eight worthy drivers and a final where any of the four finalists could win when the highest placing driver would be crowned 2025 Champion.
Three of the four drivers qualified 1-3, with only Briscoe showing any gap. Briscoe won seven poles this year, showing the unpredictability of Race 36 on the Cup schedule.
Time to race
Stage 1 (1-60) Top 8 S1 >>
Hamlin leads the field to the green flag, and a lack of passing makes for a pedestrian S1. Hamlin leads all 60 laps in the Stage with Byron second and Larson 4th. Briscoe is the final driver in the four and runs tenth. By lap 50, Byron has reeled in Hamlin and they are dualing for the race lead, and then Byron goes around the 11. Byron pilots the 24 to the Stage win. Hamlin is third and Larson 5th. Briscoe finishes 10th. Only one lead change and no S1 cautions.
Stage 2 (61-125)
Most of the field pits between the stages and Blaney takes the field to the green flag on lap 70. It’s Byron-Hamlin- Larson 2-3-4 with Briscoe in 7th. JH Nemechek gets loose into the wall scant laps later, and the race has its first competition yellow. Lap 80 brings Hamlin dualing with Blaney for the lead and pushes by with Byron and Larson right behind, dropping Blaney to fourth. Briscoe is 6th. Hamlin is showing long-range speed and opens up a 3+ second lead over Larson. SVG creates the second competition caution of the race and then Briscoe damages his machine. On lap 115, the restart brings Hamlin to the lead with Byron and Larson 2-3. By lap 151, All lead lap cars head to pit road. Denny Hamlin wins the race off pit road, followed by Ryan Blaney in second and Kyle Larson in third position. Hamlin continues to lead the 11 with ten to go and leads by .0030. Hamlin leads more than 150 laps. Ty Dillon cuts his right rear tire and effectively ends the stage with 3 to go. Hamlin leads both stages. There have been five cautions for 34 laps with a final stage to go.
Final Stage (186 to finish)
The field pits and Hamlin recognizes his right rear is going down. This open pit situation keeps Denny from losing more than the several positions he lost. He could have been a lap or more down.
The flag drops on lap 19,3 and Byron leads Ross Chastain for the race lead. By lap 200, it’s Byron in the lead, Briscoe 3, Hamlin 7, and Larson 10th. Leader Trouble: Lap 214. Kyle Larson slows with a flat right front tire from eighth position and comes to pit road. Briscoe also cuts his right rear tire. Now two Final Four drivers are a lap down. Alert: Chase Briscoe receives the free pass under caution conditions. Larson is still a lap down with 85 to go. Cindric goes into the wall with 54 laps to go wadding up the rear quarterpanels of his #2 Discount Tire Ford. The entire field pits with 49 laps to go and NO room for pit stop error. Hamlin and Byron emerge on the front row and go back and fourth with the lead with 47 to go.
The caution flag is out with just 32 laps remaining at the track. Denny Hamlin continues to lead in his No. 11 Toyota, holding a half-second advantage over William Byron. Ryan Blaney runs third, just over one second behind the leader. This race has featured 12 lead changes among four different drivers, with eight cautions slowing the action for 54 laps. Hamlin, who started from the pole, has been dominant – leading 179 laps across six different stints at the front.
For the first time in the race, the Final Four take up the first four running postions. Hamlin takes contril with Byron second. Larson and Briscoe slip to 5-6. Hamlin extends his lead to 3-seconds and Byron goes into the wall with a flat tire bringing out the caution. The field pits and Hamlin takes four tires for OT while Larson takes the lead and takes only two tires. Hamlin is 10th with Briscoe and Byron being out of it. Larson takes the high lind behind Brad Keselowski and Ryan Preece. Hamlin takes the low line but is blocked and gets no momentum. Hamlin never gets untracked and Larson wins his second CUP title. Blaney wins the race and Hamlin finishes 6th. Bad luck and bad choices doom his chances to finally win his first title.
Race Winner
Blaney leads 20 laps. Bet the Final Four are glad a Ford did not get in the Championship Four
2025 Champion
Kyle Larson wins his second CUP title. With Denny Hamlin and William Byron running strongest, Larson was not positioned to win until Byron cut a tire forcing overtime. Larson took advantage of Hamlin being pinned at the bottom of the track while he ran the top. Larson wins the title despite NOT leading one lap all day.
Kyle, what an unbelievable restart. Was it the bracelet the kids gave you before the race?
KYLE LARSON: I guess. We did the best job we could. That’s the bracelet Owen made me. Honestly, I can’t believe it. Like, we didn’t lead a lap today. Somehow won the championship.
I mean, really, I’m just speechless. I can’t believe it. We had an average car at best. We had the right front go down, lost a lap. Got saved by the caution. Did the wave-around. Was really bad that run. We took two tires. I was like, Oh, God, here we go. We’re going to go to the back now.
It had a lot more grip than I anticipated. We got lucky with the final caution. I was really hoping we were going to take two again. I felt like I learned a lot on that restart, bombing one and two really hard. Thought I could do the same thing if we got another one.
Who Do You Love? Denny is tormenting fans, and Denny’s 60th win at LVMS
They Said It…
DENNY HAMLIN, No. 11 Progressive Insurance Toyota Camry XSE, Joe Gibbs Racing
Finishing Position: 6th What are you feeling after the day you had today?
“Yeah, nothing I can do different. Prepared as good as I could coming into the weekend. My team gave me a fantastic car. Just didn’t work out. I was just praying that no caution. Had one there. What can you do? Just not meant to be.”
Fantasy Picks
Prequalifying and Race- No changes. Hamlin will pinch-hit for a driver before the end of S2.
Best Pick- Larson wins. Best choice. Hamlin in and Bell out. Worst pick. Byron ruins another day with a late flat tire. PTS. 201 + 20 for 221. A good day could have been great.
Factoids that may interest only me
–Tyler Reddick ranks first in the series in percentage of laps completed at 99.8%, having run all but 15 of the 9,261 laps this season.
-If Hamlin wins the title he would be, at age 44, the oldest to win a championship since Bobby Allison in 1983.
–Ryan Blaney has seven top-five finishes in the last eight races at Phoenix. … Joey Logano has four wins at Phoenix.
Tale of the Tape
Kansas Army National Guardsman victorious as $1 MILLION WINNER in NASCAR Powerball Playoff
A Kansas Lottery player emerged victorious in the final drawing of the NASCAR Powerball Playoff™, winning the $1 million top prize!
Francisco Erives, of Jetmore, Kansas, was declared the $1 million winner in the third installment of the national Powerball® promotion during a drawing broadcast live from Phoenix Raceway® on NBC, just before the start of the 2025 NASCAR Cup Series Championship™ Race. Erives, who attended the event alongside the other three lottery finalists, was in disbelief when his number was drawn by the machine.
“I feel a little numb,” said Erives. “This is huge, enormous. My life is going to be completely different from now on.”
